After the Civil War, southern blacks were free but struggled to find their place in society. Although they were not slaves, they were not considered first class citizens. They did not have equal rights, equal social or economic status, and they did not have the right to vote. This placed them at a great disadvantage while trying to survive and support their families. They needed a way out or a way up. There were two prominent figures at this time that presented different avenues to uplift the black community. They were Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Dubois. To navigate these two avenues, one must understand the backgrounds of these two men. The two avenues that these men presented were probably different because they came from different backgrounds. Booker T. Washington was born a slave in the Southern state of Virginia. Growing up in the south, Washington experienced the harsh reality of being a slave before being emancipated. He also was familiar with the prejudice and struggle of the freed black man in the south. After being emancipated, he enrolled in Hampton Institute to improve his plight. He eventually became the founder of Tuskegee …show more content…
Institute. W.E.B. Dubois was born and lived as a free man in the northern state of Massachusetts. He grew up surrounded by white people who he was considered their equal. He attended Fisk University, and later became the first black man to receive a doctorate from Harvard University. It is probably safe to say that their environment influenced the philosophies of these two men (Black 1) Booker T Washington favored a more conservative avenue for change.
He thought blacks should go along with the status quo and not fight for equal rights. He felt that blacks should not “rock the boat”. He thought that this only angered the white people even more. He believed that blacks would gain better economic and social status if they made themselves more valuable to the white man. They would do this by first obtaining an education that focused on skills and industry. He believed if blacks made themselves skilled laborers then this would mutually benefit both the blacks and the whites. Once the whites realized that these skills that the blacks had acquired made them prosper they would eventually accept blacks as their equal. “The philosophy of Washington was one of accommodation to white oppression” (Gibson
7). W.E.B. Dubois favored a more radical avenue for change. “DuBois firmly believed that persistent agitation, political action, and academic education would be the means to achieve full citizenship rights for black Americans” (Gibson 18). He wanted to shake things up. He wanted blacks to protest for the right to vote. He wanted them to fight for equal rights. Unlike Washington, Dubois felt that blacks should get a liberal arts education just like the whites. In an effort to demonstrate his opposition of the status quo, he was a part of political organizations such as the NAACP and was the editor of The Crisis, a political magazine. While Dubois wanted equal rights and the right to vote for blacks, he only thought educated blacks should have the right to vote. He also believed that a small group of smart intelligent blacks would pave the way for the upward mobility of the rest of blacks. He referred to this group as “The Talented Tenth”. Washington and Dubois were significant leaders for blacks during their time. They both were against lynching, inhumane treatment and violence that blacks had to endure. They both were for independence and economic advancement of blacks. The avenues they took or their philosophies might have been different but they both shared a common goal, first class citizenship for their people.
African-Americans in the 1920’s lived in a period of tension. No longer slaves, they were still not looked upon as equals by whites. However, movements such as the Harlem renaissance, as well as several African-American leaders who rose to power during this period, sought to bring the race to new heights. One of these leaders was W.E.B. DuBois, who believed that education was the solution to the race problem. The beliefs of W.E.B. DuBois, as influenced by his background, had a profound effect on his life work, including the organizations he was involved with and the type of people he attracted. His background strongly influenced the way he attacked the "Negro Problem." His influence continues to affect many people.
Booker Taliaferro Washington was born a slave in Hale’s Ford, Virginia, in 1856. He was forced to labor from a young age and was confused when he saw white children his age sitting
Comparing W.E.B. DuBois and Booker T. Washington. W. E. B. -. Du Bois and Booker T. Washington had very different views about their culture and country. Du Bois, born in the North and studying in Europe, was fascinated with the idea of Socialism and Communism. Booker T. Washington, on the other hand, was born in the South, and like so many others, had a Black mother and a White father.
...ncerning voting rights, social change, education, and the role of the black man in the South. Du Bois Believed that African Americans should get social and political equality immediately and through education, while Washington thought that African Americans should get social and political equality gradually and through trade skills. Although both offer valid points and arguments, Washington has a more convincing and beneficial philosophy than Du Bois. Booker T. Washington had a gradual approach towards political and social equality which allowed society to slowly accept African Americans into their society which allowed society to adjust better unlike Du Bois who wanted a drastic change. Washington also focused on having an education on trade skills that allowed African Americans to work and contribute to the economy, which allowed them to have a place in society.
“If there is anybody in this land who thoroughly believes that the meek shall inherit the earth they have not often let their presence be known” (Du Bois). This is a quote from African American rights activists W.E.B. Du Bois. It’s a good example of how he views the situation at this time, and how he works mentally as a rights activist. This was a very dangerous time for the African American population in America. During this time period, there were two very well-known men who protested for rights for the African American community. Their names were Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois. Both had very different views, but were both doing it as a way to help the African American community. However, for this time period, W.E.B. Du Bois’ philosophies
Booker T. Washington was an African American leader who established an African-American college in 1181. Then in 1895 delivered the Atlanta Compromise Speech to an audience of mainly Southerners, but some Northerners were present. In his speech he made a few points. He said, “No race can prosper till it learns that there is as much dignity in tilling a field as in writing a poem.” Washington believed that the African American race needed to learn first that manual labor was just as important as the work of intellects. He thought that until they learned this they were not worthy of becoming intellects themselves. The color line is thus important in teaching them this lesson. He also said, “It is important and right that all privileges of the law be ours, but it is vastly more important that we be prepared for the exercise of these privileges.” His opinion was that one day blacks would deserve to have equal rights with the whites, but right now in 1895 the blacks needed to be...
submissive. The snare of the snare. Washington wanted blacks to try and get along with society. trying to fit in. He was encouraging blacks to become educated in the the "white man's world".
He seemed to have “supported segregation and the disenfranchisement of Blacks,” despite being “involved in politics” while speaking on the “prevention of disenfranchisement” (Seaton 55). Washington did what he believed was best for the helpless Americans, but in doing so, the perception he gave to them and DuBois was that “the white stereotype holds over Blacks and how they are positioned to be aware of it” (Seaton 55). In “The Souls of Black Folk,” DuBois even states about the “distinct status of civil inferiority for the Negro” under Washington’s policy (DuBois 1331). In Washington’s Atlanta speech, his motive was “to show whites that Blacks were making incremental progress and to ease the tension that was building all throughout the country” (Seaton 55). It can be said that Washington was publicly working under the ideology of white-supremacists, compensating them instead of the Black community. On the other hand, DuBois wanted to “integrate the African-American people into the modern affairs of America and allow for them to forge lives and gain inclusion into American society” (Seaton 56). He wanted to include minorities in the “American social body,” whereas Washington didn’t strongly oppose segregation, but only wanted to ease tensions with white-supremacists (Seaton
Booker T. Washington and W. E. B. DuBoise. Booker T. Washington believed that blacks should not push to attain equal civil and political rights with whites. That it was best to concentrate on improving their economic skills and the quality of their character. The burden of improvement rests squarely on the shoulders of the black man.
The book, Up From Slavery, written by Booker Taliaferro Washington, profoundly touched me when I read it. Washington overcame many obstacles throughout his life. He became perhaps the most prominent black leader of his time. Booker T. Washington belived that African Americans could gain equality by improving their economic situation through education rather than by demanding equal rights.
We can see that African Americans were still struggling for equality even after the emancipation and the abolishment of slavery. They still did not get the equal rights and opportunities compared to whites. This had been reflected in the first essay in Du Bois’s book with a title Of Our Spiritual Strivings that indicates blacks were denied the opportunity that were available to the whites even after emancipation. During the days of Jim Crow, people of color received unfair treatment from almost all aspects of their lives. At that time, not all people were brave enough to express and speak up their desire for transformation. Two most influential black leaders that were known to have the courage to speak up their beliefs in social equality were
In 1903 black leader and intellectual W.E.B. Du Bois wrote an essay in his collection The Souls of Black Folk with the title “Of Mr. Booker T. Washington and Others.” Both Washington and Du Bois were leaders of the black community in the 19th and 20th century, even though they both wanted to see the same outcome for black Americans, they disagreed on strategies to help achieve black social and economic progress. History shows that W.E.B Du Bois was correct in racial equality would only be achieved through politics and higher education of the African American youth.
This book was about Booker T Washington who was a slave on a plantation in Virginia until he was nine years old. His autobiography offers readers a look into his life as a young child. Simple pleasures, such as eating with a fork, sleeping in a bed, and wearing comfortable clothing, were unavailable to Washington and his family. His brief glimpses into a schoolhouse were all it took to make him long for a chance to study and learn. Readers will enjoy the straightforward and strong voice Washington uses to tell his story. The book document his childhood as a slave and his efforts to get an education, and he directly credits his education with his later success as a man of action in his community and the nation. Washington details his transition from student to teacher, and outlines his own development as an educator and founder of the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. He tells the story of Tuskegee's growth, from classes held in a shantytown to a campus with many new buildings. In the final chapters of, it Washington describes his career as a public speaker and civil rights activist. Washington includes the address he gave at the Atlanta Cotton States and International Exposition in 1895, which made him a national figure. He concludes his autobiography with an account of several recognitions he has received for his work, including an honorary degree from Harvard, and two significant visits to Tuskegee, one by President McKinley and another by General Samuel C. Armstrong. During his lifetime, Booker T. Washington was a national leader for the betterment of African Americans in the post-Reconstruction South. He advocated for economic and industrial improvement of Blacks while accommodating Whites on voting rights and social equality.
Booker Taliaferro Washington was born a slave on April 5, 1856, in Franklin County, Va. His mother, Jane Burroughs, was a plantation cook. His father was an unknown white man. As a child, Booker swept yards and brought water to slaves working in the fields. Freed after the American Civil War, he went with his mother to Malden, W. Va., to join Washington Ferguson, whom she had married during the war.
Washington uses a coaching style approach regarding his process of getting his fellow African Americans to enroll in schools and pursue a higher education. Washington embraces the path-goal theory supportive leader behavior perfectly by leading them down a path with the end goal being beneficial to all those who follow it. He motivates his followers by ensuring them that if they work hard and receive a proper education that they will be free from the chains of ignorance and stereotypes that black men and women are only good for manual labor. Although he received mixed reviews at first, people eventually listened and followed his philosophy and sought out higher education. This was very successful as the percentage of African Americans and other minority groups enrolling and graduating college is still increasing. The way Booker T. Washington used Transformational Leadership was by taking a stand and speaking up about the inequality African Americans were enduring regarding education and receiving fewer opportunities than white people. He did not know how far his speeches and philosophy would go, but he knew he had to try something to improve the situation for his people. Washington stated, “…I plead for industrial education and development for the Negro not because I want to cramp him, but because I want to free him.” With this quote we understand his vision as he challenges African Americans to get their education